1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device; in particular, to an integrated stereo image liquid crystal display device and/or multiple view liquid display device.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally speaking, human left and right eyes separate from each other by approximately 6.5 cm, and thus there exist some minor differences in the two views of exterior world perceived by both eyes. Such two views are then passed to the brain and merged into a stereo image, enabling the perceived dimensional sense. This principle of using parallax in two eyes to create stereo image has been broadly applied in many 3D image display devices.
Currently available 3D image display devices can be roughly classified into two types, in which one type of such display devices needs to be outfitted with the stereo glasses to allow to generate stereo images (as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B), while the other one, referred as naked-eye direct view stereo image displayer, needs not such glasses (as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B). FIG. 1A shows a conventional projecting stereo display system, commonly applied in playing 3D stereo films. The projector 110 and the projector 120 respectively projects an image vertical to the direction of light filtering on the screen 130 at the same time, so the viewers, after having worn the stereo lens (such as shutter-typed or polarized lens), can see different images in left and right eyes, which images then being merged by the brain to enable perception of a stereo image. FIG. 1B depicts a stereo image displayer composed of two liquid crystal panels, wherein the first liquid crystal panel 140 is used to provide images in left and right eyes having the same polarization direction, and the second liquid crystal panel 150 is used to control different polarization direction of the images in the left and right eyes. Through the polarized lens 160, it is possible to respectively filter the images having different polarization directions to left and right eyes, allowing the brain to perceive a stereo image.
The naked-eye direct view stereo display technology free from stereo glasses, alternatively referred as Autostereoscopic 3D Display, uses the different views seen in an observer's left and right eyes due to slight angular difference between them to, at a certain suitable angle and distance, allow one eye to be located in a viewable area of one image while the other eye located in a viewable area of the other image, thereby, through the brain, merging the two images into a stereo image of a certain dimensional depth. Common direct view stereo displayers include the parallax barrier typed displayer and the cylindrical lens typed, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.
FIG. 2A shows a diagram of the operation principle of a parallax barrier displayer comprising a liquid crystal panel 210 and a parallax barrier 220. The parallax barrier 220 is installed at the front side of the liquid crystal panel 210, and the vertical grading stripe on the parallax barrier 220 can be designed so as to precisely block the light passing through each pixel, thereby allocating the image to the right eye or the left eye. In other word, since the angles viewed from the right eye and the left eye differ, through the blockage of the parallax barrier 220, it is therefore possible to allow the right eye to see only a portion of pixels R in the liquid crystal panel 210 and the left eye to see the other portion of pixels L in the liquid crystal panel 210, thus enabling the left and right eyes to respectively see an independent image, finally merged by the brain to acquire the stereo image having 3D spatial depth. In addition to the usage with regards to stereo image display, through the adjustments on the distance x between the liquid crystal panel 210 and the parallax barrier 220, as well as on the location and/or size of each pixel in the liquid crystal panel 210, the parallax barrier displayer may be also applied as a multiple view display device. However, the defect of such a parallax barrier displayer lies in that the opaque parallax barrier also blocks out light output thereof, hence leading to unwanted reduction in brightness of the entire panel.
FIG. 2B shows a diagram of the operation principle of a cylindrical lens displayer comprising a liquid crystal panel 230 and a cylindrical lens layer 240. The cylindrical lens layer 240 is used to respectively refract the left and right pixels (L, R) in the liquid crystal panel 230 to the left and right eyes of a user to create a stereo image. Through the assistance of computers, it is possible to simulate the required array density, inclined angle and array arrangement angle and the like in the cylindrical lens layer 240. In general, the higher the array density in the cylindrical lens layer 240 is, the finer the image resolution can become; however, the effect of stereo perception may be accordingly compromised. On the other hand, problems such as image interference and Mura phenomenon may occur at the boundary between the liquid crystal panel 230 and the cylindrical lens layer 240.
Besides, both the parallax barrier displayer and the cylindrical lens displayer are required to install an additional parallax barrier or cylindrical lens layer outside the display panel, thus integral weight and thickness of the displayer will undesirably increase.
As a result, it is necessary to provide an integrated stereo display device and/or multiple view display device with preferable slimness as well as good reliability.